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The megalodon targeted by Habiba's ego whip flinches visibly as tendrils of blood leak from its eyes and nostrils into the water... which causes its fellow megalodon to go into a mindless feeding frenzy!
Jolted by the sudden mental assault of Habiba's ego whip, followed by its stupid schoolmate biting it on its bleeding snout, the one megalodon goes berserk and bites back at its frenzied mate!
Shark-talk: Ya wanna play bite-arse with me, do ya, Curly-boy!? Take that!
Shark-talk: OOOOW!! WHY I OUGHTTA!!!
Shark-talk: YEEEEOOOOOWWCH!! WHY ARE WE BITING EACH OTHER, YOU KNUCKLEHEAD!? BITE THE FOOD!! NOT ME!!
BATTLE OF BLOODY WATER, PART II!! EEEEK!! ROUND 3!! FIGHT!!
LITTLE LORD PERPIREEN MCGIBEL! Missing in action...
COBRA JOHANN!
GOOD WITCH OF AFRICA MWIKALI!
CARDINAL LUCIUS D'BORJA!
3 DIRE SHARKS! 1 swimming off in la la land, 2 bites 3, 3 bites 2...
DRUMMERFEY ALGORAL!
PRINCESS IHRIN ARDLEAN DRACULA!
RABBI ALEXEI ORLOVSKY!
HABIBA AL-SAHIM OF MANY LIVES!
6 MERFOLK!
EMIR ZAGATHOTH THE DRAGONSLAYER!
OOH OOH AH AH AAAAH!!
The Knights of the Order of Champions have prevailed over yet another wave in the running Battle of Bloody Water, as their psychic assault has turned the sea monsters against each other. The dire sharks pick each other apart, further polluting the water with crimson blood!
Swimming, flying on broom, carpet or wing, or traipsing freely across the seabed, the adventurers make their way another five hundred feet east toward center, and reach the looming, fantastic Palace of Poseidon at the nexus of the sunken city! Barnacle-encrusted towers, domes, and arches rise some hundred feet above the central isle, and at the pinnacle of the highest tower perches a gleaming black pyramid...
The Black Pyramid of Kronos is like nothing the adventurers have ever seen...
No barnacles or algae have gained purchase on its polished, gleaming, obsidian surface over ten millennia, and there is no apparent entrance in its surface, which is decorated with ornate sigils of mysterious meaning that seam to glow with a blazing golden radiance!
The merfolk, two mermaids and four mermen, salute the adventurers and stare at them in astonishment...
In Aquan: Hail, mighty heroes of the dry lands! For surely, thou art the champions of thy kind, so handily didst thou defeat the great sharks and made the mighty sea serpent Sargasso vanish into other waters...
A mermaid to Cobra Johann: How art thou called, sinuous serpent of the land realms?
What magic allows thee to breathe!?
Studying the glowing sigils, Alexei moves towards the pyramid. Placing his hands upon its smooth black surface he mutters an esoteric phrase in Hebrew and attempts to activate it...
Studying the glowing sigils, Alexei moves towards the pyramid. Placing his hands upon its smooth black surface he mutters an esoteric phrase in Hebrew and attempts to activate it...
[dice=UMD]1d20+20
The Rabbi's mathematical mind is well suited to navigating the numeric intricacies of the Black Pyramid's incredibly complex array of controls, which are a combination of physical levers, knobs, dials, and buttons on the helm within the bridge of the pyramid ship and psychic constructs within the pilot's mind!
He perceives that he can now teleport to the bridge and assume command of the helm, and can teleport adjacent passengers aboard as desired as well...
As the Champions approach the fantastic Palace of Poseidon, a pack of faceless stalkers, slavishly devoted to the Slime-Shrouded Master, cannot help but spot the band's fairy light and unusual parade of airbreathers on magic carpets, magic broom, or clinging to a swimming emperor cobra, their weapons and armor shining with a magical luminosity...
The twelve stalkers fear this mighty band, and dare not assault them directly, for the interlopers looked fierce and formidable, and the stalkers, though loyal, were cowardly... Instead of ambushing the party of dangerous-looking strangers, the stalkers would stealthily report back to their master what they had seen...
In the hidden sanctum of the Slime-Shrouded Master, the panicked faceless stalkers stammer and stutter their report of strange invaders from the Upper World...
Gribble fnargle blib murgh!!
In the hidden sanctum of the Slime-Shrouded Master, the panicked faceless stalkers stammer and stutter their report of strange invaders from the Upper World...
Gribble fnargle blib murgh!!
** spoiler omitted **
The Slime-Shrouded Master was startled by this report... This was unacceptable! His minions were merely to return with food and tribute from the shipwreck, not news of fierce and capable explorers approaching the palace!
Telepathic communion with faceless stalkers: WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'FIERCE INVADERS'!? ARE THEY APPROACHING THE PALACE? HAVE THEY FOUND THE BLACK PYRAMID!?
In the hidden sanctum of the Slime-Shrouded Master, the panicked faceless stalkers stammer and stutter their report of strange invaders from the Upper World...
Gribble fnargle blib murgh!!
** spoiler omitted **
The Slime-Shrouded Master was startled by this report... This was unacceptable! His minions were merely to return with food and tribute from the shipwreck, not news of fierce and capable explorers approaching the palace!
Telepathic communion with faceless stalkers: WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'FIERCE INVADERS'!? ARE THEY APPROACHING THE PALACE? HAVE THEY FOUND THE BLACK PYRAMID!?
In Aklo: Yes!! Yes!! They are coming, master, what do?? What do??
In Aklo: Yes!! Yes!! They are coming, master, what do?? What do??In the hidden sanctum of the Slime-Shrouded Master, the panicked faceless stalkers stammer and stutter their report of strange invaders from the Upper World...
Gribble fnargle blib murgh!!
** spoiler omitted **
The Slime-Shrouded Master was startled by this report... This was unacceptable! His minions were merely to return with food and tribute from the shipwreck, not news of fierce and capable explorers approaching the palace!
Telepathic communion with faceless stalkers: WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'FIERCE INVADERS'!? ARE THEY APPROACHING THE PALACE? HAVE THEY FOUND THE BLACK PYRAMID!?
Stay here, my faithful hounds, and protect me until I think of a plan to deal with these intruders from above!
Stay here, my faithful hounds, and protect me until I think of a plan to deal with these intruders from above!In Aklo: Yes!! Yes!! They are coming, master, what do?? What do??In the hidden sanctum of the Slime-Shrouded Master, the panicked faceless stalkers stammer and stutter their report of strange invaders from the Upper World...
Gribble fnargle blib murgh!!
** spoiler omitted **
The Slime-Shrouded Master was startled by this report... This was unacceptable! His minions were merely to return with food and tribute from the shipwreck, not news of fierce and capable explorers approaching the palace!
Telepathic communion with faceless stalkers: WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'FIERCE INVADERS'!? ARE THEY APPROACHING THE PALACE? HAVE THEY FOUND THE BLACK PYRAMID!?
In Aklo: Yes, master! We hear and obey!
Be wary of traveling in time for the stream of history is sinuous and treacherous. I strongly suggest that moving from place to place is by far the safest course of action until there is a well thought out reason and plan of action for time travel. Even those of us who do not fear the passing of the ages are cautious about changing history.
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The merfolk tremble when they see the adventurers dare to approach the Black Pyramid of Kronos. One of the mermaids cries out in fear, and one of the mermen calls out to the heroes in Aquan: Beware the Black Pyramid, oh heroes of the Dry Lands, for it is an eldritch artifact of great power, made by the gods in the Age of the Titans! It is jealously coveted by the evil Slime-Shrouded Master, a cunning and deranged aberration from the time before life as we know it was created by the gods... A creature ye may call an aboleth in thine airbreathers tongue...
Sunday, 21st January, Year of Our Lord 1437, 6:30 PM:
Hungering and in an evil temper, the great fire dragon Wormwood flies out of its lair in Mount Vesuvius to hunt, and falls upon a herd of pegasus flying over the Italian countryside. With blasts of fiery breath, snapping jaws, and rending claws, the terrible red wyrm slaughters and roasts the entire herd!
Having sated hunger and wrath, the fearsome dragon of the Apocalypse flies back to its volcanic lair to slumber...
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Johann has a desire to talk freely, and morphs back to his humanoid shape.
"THIS DEVICE CAN MOVE US THROUGH TIME? MY FRIENDS, WE CANNOT STAY UNDER WATER FOREVER. I SUGGEST WE GO BACKWARDS TO WHEN THIS WHOLE CITY WAS YET ON LAND! THERE, WE CAN TAKE A MOMENT TO REST AND DETERMINE OUR FUTURE..MULTIPLE FUTURE..?...COURSES."
Johann has a desire to talk freely, and morphs back to his humanoid shape.
"THIS DEVICE CAN MOVE US THROUGH TIME? MY FRIENDS, WE CANNOT STAY UNDER WATER FOREVER. I SUGGEST WE GO BACKWARDS TO WHEN THIS WHOLE CITY WAS YET ON LAND! THERE, WE CAN TAKE A MOMENT TO REST AND DETERMINE OUR FUTURE..MULTIPLE FUTURE..?...COURSES."
Ihrin looks at them as she shudders."This is something we shouldn't mettle with the Gods new and old will be displeased if we do too much with it. Grave consequences could arise. I know you are thinking this could be the answer to many of the calamities that have happened but to change them could alter our lives and the whole climate of Europe and beyond.' She says her voice intense as she herself knew of life-altering magics and what it does to others. She was literally a walking manifestation of mystical tampering.
"I will say this seems the best bet to get us outta here." Ihrin says as she floats next to Johann.
in Aquan:"Simple magics that allow for us to breathe freely with little to no effort. Many spells of various traditions I have been told can do such. As for ours, you can thank the Wee lord. I was told once it can be reversed to allow for water breathers to breathe air in a similar fashion. I am not entirely sure of this mind you as I have never really needed to breathe air as I can do it already"Mwikali says in which she translates anything for them and to her party.
Mwikali looks at the others and then the Pyramid.'We should go back and take out my current tribal leader. He brought Islam to my people and secured his throne with the aid of the Muslim dogs. I a rebel was captured and sold with specific instructions to be far away from my people. He did not want dissidents in his country, and for that, we are captured, after that, we are either killed or sold. So if we can I seek to alter that and let my people be free from the oppressive King.'
She then thought about it."No, wait, what of these Mines that liberated European was talking of. Could we use this to find a time when they existed and then once we find them come back to the present and liberate it. Its riches may aid us in our campaigns?"She says seeing that she and her companions could use loot and resources to not only slay this evil but fund a campaign to free Africa from slavery.
'I mean it could hold weapons and treasure to fight this..what was it..in the Catacombs again...Doesn't matter the point I am trying to make if we can find its location in the past we should be able to find it in the present and get the riches within. Bolstering us, the church and our missions.'
As multiple ideas are voiced about where and when they should head, the Rabbi raises a hand and offers, "Please, Johann is right about needing time to discuss what we shall do. Not about immediately heading to Atlantis before its sinking though. I know a clearing in the woods a day's ride north of Kiev. The most dangerous thing there is an occasional wolf, and I believe I can bring us there safely when we're ready. First, is there anything else we need to do here before leaving?"
"As much as the opportunity to see Atlantis before its fall excites me, that should be saved until we are more prepared. The jealous gods have ever feared mortals who may learn their secrets and challenge their throne, none more so than the new Christian deity. We will need to be able to hide ourselves from their view before we begin using the Pyramid to its full potential. For now, somewhere on dry land is well enough." she says, and nods at Alexei.
As multiple ideas are voiced about where and when they should head, the Rabbi raises a hand and offers, "Please, Johann is right about needing time to discuss what we shall do. Not about immediately heading to Atlantis before its sinking though. I know a clearing in the woods a day's ride north of Kiev. The most dangerous thing there is an occasional wolf, and I believe I can bring us there safely when we're ready. First, is there anything else we need to do here before leaving?"
Inside the bridge, a vaulted circular chamber some fifty feet in diameter and thirty feet high, the adventurers take in their fantastic surroundings...
The air is temperate (around 75 degrees Fahrenheit) and continually refreshed by some magical means... The Rabbi senses that he can adjust the climate within to suit himself and his passengers...
Illumination seems to come from within the tiles on the vaulted ceiling, and Alexei soon discovers that he can brighten or dim them as desired with a psychic command...
The helm consists of a sleek, elegant throne of gleaming hematite, with a bewildering array of knobs, dials, levers, buttons and other controls adorning a lecturn or desk in front of the throne, and on the arms of the throne...
Four apparent archways exit the bridge, leading into other chambers as yet unknown to the explorers...
Algoral vaguely remembers hearing about Aboleths before but can't remember anything but that they are very scary.
Two magical clockwork constructs inhabit the bridge, both man-sized and anthropomorphic in shape. They stand silently at attention, flanking the helm throne.
Zagathoth’s head swims while he tries to grasp what everyone else is talking about. ”We can go to other times?” he finally asks, ”Can we go to last week, when we killed the dragon and freed the city? I made more sex that day than any other day.”
Zagathoth’s head swims while he tries to grasp what everyone else is talking about. ”We can go to other times?” he finally asks, ”Can we go to last week, when we killed the dragon and freed the city? I made more sex that day than any other day.”
"HEY! A MAN...." Johanns voice is very very loud in the enclosed space, and he finally realizes this.
"A man made of metal! I wish Fox was here, he would have gotten a kick on this." Johann strolls up to it and attempts to rap his knuckles on its head.
The metal man clicks and whirs for a moment before saluting Johann and jabbering in an unknown tongue with metallic voice...
JAabaARRK whEErrp BLEEP *click* BLEEP!
Mwikali uses her Tongues hex to understand and translate what the metal.men say.
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Lucius follows the rest of the group but takes no part in the debate and is obviously uncomfortable with this new development.
"This thing is not something that should be tampered with. The powers it wields belong to God alone. To move through time on a whim is... too dangerous to imagine. We must leave this thing, or destroy it, at once. It is simply too much power in the hands of man."
The Rabbi seats himself upon the throne surrounded by knobs and levers and begins studying them. When Zagathoth asks about returning to the day of his many conquests, he chuckles and explains, ”it doesn’t allow you to relive the same day, Emir, but to be present in other times... if we went back to last week, you wouldn’t be back in those same situations doing those same activities, the you of right now would just be physically present at that same time along with the you of back then... you might be able to watch what the older you was doing, but you wouldn’t be redoing it. Also, if we were to interact with older versions of ourselves we would be rewriting our own memories and I doubt very much that many of us could withstand that psychic trauma.”
As he begins to make adjustments to the controls, Alexei says to Lucius and Johann, ”All that can be discussed once we are safely away from here, and on dry land.”
Zagathoth nods like he understands what the man in the chair is saying. It seems fairly clear, however, that he doesn’t.
Giving up on the conversation, the orc wanders to the nearest door to see what’s beyond it.
Mwikali looks at the metal men and responds.
Ihrin shakes her head at the moral and ethical dilemma of such a device and instead follows the hulking Zagathoth.
"I'll Accompany you Zag, let the priests and wizards handle it"
The curious Algoral flutters off with the explorers. Offering them a jaunty marching tune...